A Glimpse in Time
by ShellSueD
Summary: A short sequel to 'I am an Opportunist'
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This take place some indeterminate amount of time after the story _'I Am An Opportunist'_. (Not really a necessary read to understand this one, but it's a fun read if you haven't given it a gander)

A little bit of happy for Tank (which I believe a lot of you were hoping for) and another Merry Man. And, of course, for Ranger and Stephanie.

I will leave this open as _'in progress'_ because I have a feeling I will be popping in from time to time with some other snippets of their happily ever after.

I hope you enjoy!

In the tradition of IAAO, the first section is a tad smutty. ;)

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"Someone is going to notice we're gone." Stephanie's voice was thick with desire and that coupled with the softly exhaled breath that tickled my ear as she said it had me rivaling concrete for hardness. I lifted her easily and set her onto the counter in the long and narrow dressing room.

I ran my hands up the inside of her smooth and silky calves, pushing the skirt of her dress higher up her legs as I went. "You're the one who happened to mention you aren't wearing any panties so I can't really be blamed for our absence." My fingers reached the apex of her thighs and she was indeed going commando. She was also very, _very_ wet. _For me._ My cock strained at the zipper of my black tuxedo pants. She groaned right along with me as I slid one, and then two fingers inside her.

"_Ranger…" _She had a smile on her face that told me she knew exactly what she'd done when she casually said underwear hadn't been an option with the dress she'd chosen to wear tonight. I flicked my tongue along the outer rim of her ear and slipped my other hand inside the plunging neckline of her dress. Her nipple hardened at my touch and I was afraid my zipper was going to break under the throbbing pressure.

"Hmmm?" She was starting to pant with the rhythm of my slowly thrusting fingers and I had the fleeting thought that I might come before I even got my dick out of my pants.

"Did you lock the door?" she asked, maybe for the second time as my mouth burned a path down her neck. I nipped at the junction where it meets her shoulder. Did I lock the door? Fuck if I knew. I hardly remember even getting _throug_h the door. I was fairly certain there was only one acceptable response to that question.

"Yes," I replied and as her hand found the bulge between my legs I nearly whimpered with impatience. I shoved her hands out of the way and nearly tore the zipper tab right off trying to get my pants undone. Finally free of its confines, my cock sank deep into its home with an assist from my hands, pulling her tight to me by the curve of her ass.

"_Jesus, Steph." _ A low growl escaped my throat when I was sheathed to the hilt. I moaned her name again and pressed my forehead against hers. I stayed there for several seconds, trying to calm my racing heart and so this didn't end before I even got started. I would never get over how quickly she could bring me to the edge. It had never been like this with another woman and I didn't want it any other way. I was sure there would never be a time when I didn't want to drag her away from a crowd because I couldn't wait any longer to have her.

Her blue eyes sparkled in the low light of the room and the way she was looking at me made me want her even more. "I love you," she whispered and cradled my cheek in her palm. It didn't matter how many times she said them, those words were always my undoing. I captured her lips with mine as I began to move with long, deep strokes. All too soon I was spilling inside her as she clenched around me and bit my shoulder to keep from screaming.

I stayed buried and peppered her face and neck with opened mouth kisses. "We should get back to the party," she murmured after indulging me for a few minutes more.

I sighed and slowly pulled out of her, tucking myself back inside my pants as she slid off the counter and landed lightly on her feet. "Or we can slip out the side door I saw on the way here and continue this at home."

I wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled her against me. I couldn't give a rat's ass about the rest of the evening. I just wanted to take Stephanie home and then to bed.

"We can't leave, you're in the wedding party," she said reasonably.

"Is that a rule?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? I've never heard of that precedent."

She gave me a classic eye roll and tugged me toward the exit.

"Ranger!" she exclaimed when we reached the door and spun around to give me a shot of her death ray eyes. "This was not locked!"

"Whoops," I said with a shrug and she let out a frustrated breath before pulling me out of the room.

I laced my fingers through hers as we made our way back to the ballroom with a short pit stop at the restrooms to clean up. I gave the side exit we'd passed on our way down the hall a hopeful look when we went by it again but apparently groomsmen weren't allowed to leave before the bride and groom. Stephanie explained this ridiculous etiquette as we headed toward the reception.

She stopped short when we entered the room and I slid my arms around her waist from behind while she watched several couples swaying close together on the dance floor.

"Our little boy is growing up, Ranger." I kissed her just below her ear and then briefly touched it with my tongue.

"I wouldn't consider marrying a woman because you knocked her up the most commendable road to adulthood, Babe."

I sucked in my stomach just before her elbow jabbed into it. "Stop saying that. Lester loves her."

"Lester loves his dick. He loves it so much he didn't use a condom and didn't make sure she was protected another way."

"He loves her," Steph said again.

"How can you tell?"

She turned around in my arms and kissed me. "Because he looks at her the same way you look at me."

I cut my eyes to Santos and his new bride. His left arm was around her waist and his right hand held her left one close to his heart. They were on the dance floor, but barely moving. He was looking at her like she was his very reason for living and I suddenly knew exactly what Stephanie meant.

I smiled at the love of my life and pressed my lips to her forehead. "You're right, Babe. He loves her. Do you want to dance with me?"

"Yes, I do. But first can you put the fact that you said I'm right in writing and have it notarized?"

"Very amusing. Just for that I'm going to make you dance with Ram."

"_Ranger!_" she protested as I pulled her towards the dancing couples. Ram was a horrible dancer and constantly stepped on his partner's toes. With size fifteen feet, it was a pretty painful endeavor.

I twirled her into my arms as we hit the parquet floor and held her much the same way Lester was holding his woman. "So when do the bride and groom usually leave? It will be soon, right?"

"You're hopeless," she said with a laugh.

"_May I cut in?" _Hector asked in Spanish after tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hector!" Stephanie squealed his name and nearly shoved me to the ground trying to get to him. "When did you get back?" She threw her arms around his neck and he picked her up and swung her around in a circle.

Hector had been in Mexico for the better part of the last two months taking care of his ailing Grandmother and Stephanie had missed her friend. I gave her a quick kiss and left them there to share a dance. I'd sic Ram on her later.

I made my way back to the wedding party table and joined Tank who was nursing a beer. "Do you ever worry about those two?" He asked and gestured to the dance floor with his chin. I settled in the chair next to him and picked up my glass of ice water.

"No. Hector is very aware that he'd be taking his last breath if I even suspected there was anything to be worried about."

Tank gave me a rare full smile and finished off his beer. "Santos seems happy," he said and I couldn't miss the note of melancholy in his tone. Tank was still pining after my happily married sister.

"Steph claims he loves her." I took a sip of water and set the glass down.

"He does," Tank agreed. "I still can't believe he's going to be a Dad. Can you picture him with a kid?"

"I have a kid," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're you. And Lester is…"

"An overgrown child?"

"To say the least. I almost feel sorry for his new wife."

I cut my eyes back to the dance floor where Lester and Melanie were still holding each other tightly. "I'm pretty sure she knew what she was getting into."

"God, I hope so," Tank muttered just as a very beautiful and very tall woman approached our table. We looked up at her at the same time but she only had eyes for Tank.

"Hi," she said. "It's Tank, right?"

Tank nodded and he seemed a little stunned - by her height or her dazzling violet eyes, I wasn't sure. "I'm Beth. We met a few weeks ago…"

"At Pino's," Tank jumped in and now I remembered the day. She was there with Melanie and some of Melanie's friends - including Stephanie. I turned back to the dance floor where Steph and Hector were just finishing a second dance. She was watching our table and the exchange between Beth and Tank very closely.

"Yes," Beth said with a small laugh. It sounded like she was happy he remembered. "I was just wondering if you'd like to dance."

Tank moved so quickly in his eagerness to get up that he knocked his chair over, but I caught it before it hit the ground. He took her offered hand and said softly, "I'd love to."

They moved toward the dance floor without a backwards glance to me and I watched Stephanie stalking my way with a wicked grin on her face. There were plenty of empty chairs, but when she reached the table, she settled herself onto my lap and draped her arms around my neck. I did not complain.

"Want to tell me what that smile is about?" I asked after brushing a kiss across her lips.

"I'm just happy that Hector's home," she said. I didn't doubt that was true, but that smile was not for Hector.

"I won't be able to save you when Tank finds out what you've done," I warned.

She tipped her head back and laughed. "I can't ever keep anything from you. And he will be too happy to worry about how it happened. They're perfect for each other."

"She's blonde," I said. "Tank has never liked blondes."

"There is a first for everything, Ranger."

I couldn't argue with that so I just kissed her again. Truthfully I was pleased she'd taken the initiative. I'd been thinking about trying to set him up myself but I didn't spend a lot of time in places where women frequently hung out.

"Speaking of firsts, there are still a few we need to explore." I nibbled on her earlobe and ran my hand over her thigh.

"Is that right?" She asked and her breath hitched on the last word as my other hand skimmed across her breasts.

"Oh yeah," I confirmed and then I whispered the one I thought about most into her ear before I dragged my mouth down her neck.

When I looked up at her again her cheeks had turned pink and her eyes were dilated to a dark, dark blue. I'd easily decimated nearly all of her sexual inhibitions but there was still one left and tonight that final frontier would be destroyed as well. I was getting hard again just thinking about it.

"Tonight?" she whispered and then wiggled her ass against my impressive erection. Oh yeah. She was ready.

"Tonight, Babe."

She crushed her mouth to mine in a drugging kiss. I was just about to violate the _'not allowed to leave before the bride and groom'_ rule when Bobby slouched into the seat next to us.

"You two are disgusting," he muttered and signaled a passing waiter.

Stephanie broke away and said sweetly, "Jealously is very unbecoming, Robert."

Bobby grinned at her as he ordered vodka on the rocks. "I can't believe we're at Lester's wedding," he mused as his eyes traveled to the dance floor where the happy couple was still swaying in each other's arms. "_Lester_, for fuck's sake. I mean, that guy was never happy unless his dick found a new warm place to nest every week and now he's married…to a _single_ warm place."

"It's fucking weird," Vince chimed in as he took a seat across from us. "I feel like we should be burning a box of condoms in effigy."

"Why would you ruin a perfectly good box of rubbers?" Cal asked with a confused expression as he sat down next to Vince. "Can you believe Lester's married?" He added. "It's like the fucking twilight zone. I thought we'd be at _your_ wedding before Lester would ever tie the knot." He shot me and Steph a look and the other guys at the table nodded in agreement.

We heard that a lot from them. They actually bugged us more about getting married than our parents did. Steph gave me a tiny eye roll and kissed me chastely. The two of us were already married in our hearts and that's all that mattered to us. Maybe someday we'd get the official piece of paper, but we've told everyone multiple times not to hold their breath.

"What are we talking about?" Zip wanted to know as he filled in another empty chair.

"The strange but true fact that Lester is married and Steph and Ranger are still refusing to bow under the pressure of our constant badgering," Bobby supplied before he tossed back half of the vodka that had just arrived.

"Yeah. What's up with that?" Zip asked, looking at us with genuine curiosity.

"Well," Stephanie said while extracting herself from my lap, "as stimulating as this conversation is, I'm gonna go see when they're going to cut the cake."

"I think I'll help you with that," I said standing up beside her.

"Cowards!" Cal called to our backs as we walked away.

"They're probably going to fuck in the bathroom," I heard Vince add and the lot of them burst into laughter.

"They'll all be fired in the morning," I told Steph as she took my hand. "I know the only reason you came is for the cake, but is that really where we're going?"

"Yes," she confirmed and shot me a grin. "But not for the reason you are intimating. Traditionally, the bride and groom leave shortly after the cake ceremony."

I gave her my thousand watt smile. "That's the best thing I've heard all night."

"Me too," she said and squeezed my fingers. "Uh oh," she whispered. My eyes left her face and lifted to see Tank's massive frame barreling toward us. I looked around for Beth and spotted her heading to the restrooms with a bridesmaid. Tank's face held a look I'd only seen one other time.

Steph was in trouble.

Her eyes caught mine again and silently pleaded for help. I slowly shook my head. I _had_ warned her, after all.

"You did this, didn't you?" His dark eyes bore into hers and she squirmed under their piercing gaze. She looked at me one last time but I refused assistance. She was on her own for this one. After several beats she finally gave a slight, non-committal shrug of her shoulders.

Tank stared at her for another minute before turning to me unexpectedly. "Don't freak out," he said and then he grabbed Stephanie and kissed her full on the lips. It was quick and when he released her he gruffly said, "Thank you," before giving her a small smile and then disappearing in the direction of the restrooms.

Stephanie's mouth was hanging open in stunned surprised and I couldn't help but laugh. "There was a fifty-fifty chance," I said after I stopped laughing. "I knew he was either going to shoot you or kiss you so you should probably be grateful it was the latter."

Her shocked face slowly spread into a smile and then she raised an eyebrow with an obvious _'I told you so,'_ expression. "See. He's happy. We'll probably be at his wedding next."

"Whoa," I said holding up my hand. "You're getting way ahead of yourself there, cocky matchmaker. Let's see how their first date goes before you start planning the nuptials."

She laughed and I linked my arm through hers. "Now let's go see about this cake because if I don't get you home soon, Vince's prediction is going to come true."

"You're insatiable," she pointed out as we cut a quick path to the multi-tiered cake spanning the end of a long buffet type table.

"Always, Babe. Always for you."


	2. Chapter 2

_Here is another little peek at life after 'I am an Opportunist'_

_Thanks very much for reading and reviewing. It makes my day._

_As always - Smut Warning!_

**JE own the rights to all familiar characters - mistakes are mi**ne

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"This is so wrong," Stephanie murmured before she ran her tongue delicately up the side of my neck.

I slid my hands down the bare skin of her back and squeezed her ass, bringing her closer to my raging erection.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong about this, Babe." I bent my head and tugged a nipple into my mouth.

She let out a small whimper and arched into the heat of my mouth. "It's Joe's truck, Ranger."

"That's what makes it so very, _very_ right," I said as I lavished some attention on her other breast and shifted her on my lap so she wasn't pressed so tightly to the steering wheel.

"We already did it in the back seat; did we have to defile the front too?"

"You started it. I was all ready to go and even put my pants back on but you attacked me before I could even get the key in the ignition." I slid my hand between her legs and brushed my thumb over her swollen clit.

She inhaled sharply. "So this is my fault?"

"Undoubtedly." I pulled her mouth to mine and dipped my tongue inside. Her nails dug into my shoulders when I slipped a finger inside her.

"I guess I better make it count then," she whispered and made quick work of the button and zipper of the jeans I'd just donned not fifteen minutes ago. She lifted up on her knees and used her hands to guide me in deep.

My head tipped back against the head rest and I couldn't stop the small groan as she slid all the way down my cock. "That is always so good, Babe. So wet and tight. I can't ever get enough of you."

She started a slow, torturous rhythm and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. It wasn't long before my balls were drawing up and the tell tale tingle of an impending orgasm was zipping up my spine. "Faster," I encouraged but my phone started ringing and she stopped moving completely. _Damn it_.

"Seriously?" Her voice was incredulous and I had to bite back a laugh. "I thought we had this interrupting shit under control."

"Ignore it," I said, clamping my hands onto her waist and lifting her up so she could slide back down. The phone stopped and she started again with long, steady strokes. This time we were both close and I could feel her muscles starting to contract. I used my grip to help move her faster and my fucking phone rang again. Stephanie growled in frustration and tried to stop but I wasn't having it.

"No," I said forcefully and took her mouth with mine while keeping her moving with my fingers digging into her hips. We exploded together a second later and my phone was still ringing.

She touched her forehead to mine as our breathing returned to normal. "You better answer it. We know from experience they won't stop calling."

I brushed a kiss across her lips before she lifted off and settled back into the seat beside me while she searched for the clothes I'd tossed every which way in my haste to get her naked. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and answered it just before it went to voicemail again.

"This better be an emergency," I barked into the mouthpiece and Vince chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Did I interrupt something naughty?"

"Get to the point unless you want to spend the next six months in Siberia."

He laughed again and I was starting to think I actually would send him to Siberia. I needed to make an example of one of them – All the men were getting way too brazen around me thinking Stephanie would save them from my ire.

"The first sign of the coming apocalypse is upon us," he said cryptically and I was very quickly losing patience.

"I hear it's _really_ cold in Siberia this time of year, Vince."

"The Santos spawn has arrived. The overly excited Dad is requesting the presence of its God parents."

Why he couldn't just say that Lester's wife had her baby is beyond me.

"Great," I said curtly. "We're on the way." I hung up with an eye roll worthy of Stephanie's best.

"Where are we on our way to?" She asked as she pulled her shirt over her head and handed me mine. I took it and zipped up my pants before I put it on.

"Hospital. Melanie had the baby."

"Oh shit," Steph said. "He's two weeks early. We have to go home first."

"Why? We are a lot closer to the hospital than home."

"Because we look and smell like we just thoroughly fucked each other brains out and I am not meeting our Godson smelling like sex."

I grinned at her as I put the SUV in gear and eased out of the dark patch of forest where I'd hidden it when Stephanie decided it would be fun to give me a blow job while I was driving us home. I almost took out a couple of trees. That would have been an awkward conversation with Morelli.

"I'm pretty sure no one will notice, Steph."

She gave me double raised eyebrows. "Are you kidding? They notice _everything _and take great delight in giving me shit about it."

The men that work for me _are_ highly observant, but I've trained them to be. Sometimes my significant other found it to be detrimental. "I've offered to fire all of them and start over with a whole new crew but you crush that idea every time I bring it up."

She laughed and laced her fingers through mine. I brought our joined hands to my mouth and kissed her knuckles. "You know I love every one of them but sometimes they are thoroughly annoying with the comments and knowing looks. I swear you must have some sort of hormone in your sperm that writes messages on my skin in invisible ink when we have sex. I feel like I have a flashing sign that says _"Ranger just ravished me"_ on my forehead that all of them can see."

"I'm pretty sure that isn't physically possible, Babe. But you do get this glow after that is sexy as hell and I love that I'm the one that makes you look that way." I turned and looked at her and those fiery blue eyes of hers were blazing hot. All for me. I am so fucking lucky.

"I love it when you say things like that," she said. I brought her hand to my lips again and focused back on the road.

"I could say a lot more things like that but with the way you're looking at me right now I think we'd end up naked again and never make it to the hospital."

"You're probably right," Steph agreed. "And we're not doing it in Joe's car anymore. We'll need to get this thing detailed before he gets back."

"No way," I protested. "It serves him right for leaving it in your care every time he goes out of town. Not only are we _not_ going to detail it but we're doing it in the back too."

Stephanie gave me a withering look. "Don't you think it would be easier to pee all over it to mark your scent?"

"Sure. But that wouldn't be as much fun."

"This testosterone fueled, alpha male posturing between the two of you is never going to end, is it?"

"Not likely, Babe."

"You're lucky I still love you even when you're being an idiot."

I squeezed her fingers and settled our hands on my thigh. "I know, Steph. Believe me, I know."

I let her talk me into going home for quick showers before we headed to the hospital and when we arrived in the parking lot, Tank and Beth were just getting out of Tank's new Lexus.

"Just like a Santos to interrupt other people's evenings," Tank grumbled as we bumped fists.

"Only a man would think someone giving birth is an interruption," Beth surmised. I gave her a peck on the cheek in greeting and she linked arms with Stephanie as they talked all things baby and we made our way into the hospital.

"Good thing it's a boy," Tank mused as we fell in step behind our women. "I would have felt bad for a girl having twenty badass uncles keeping her away from any men sniffing around until she was at least thirty."

"Thirty five," I countered and Tank grinned.

"I see that this newest little Rangeman interrupted more than date night," he said, gesturing to Stephanie with a tilt of his chin.

I laughed out loud. She was right. "Shhh," I said touching my forefinger to my lips. "She hates that everyone can tell. She thinks I have supernatural sperm or something that makes her glow."

Tank started laughing and didn't stop until we reached Lester and Melanie's private birthing room. I pushed open the door and took in the group of men crowded around a small rolling table that held the swaddled baby.

"Are they always that wrinkly?" Bobby asked softly.

"I don't know," Cal answered. But it has been trapped in a womb of goo for nine months. You'd probably be wrinkly too."

"That's nasty," Woody chimed in. "Did they pick a name yet?"

"I don't think so, but they should totally call him Cougar." Stephanie and Beth gave Ram equally horrified looks and turned to me like I should be able to control what the men say. I shrugged my shoulders; they rolled their eyes and then elbowed their way in between the guys to get a closer look.

"No one in their right mind would name a baby _Cougar,_" Stephanie chastised and Beth agreed. I ignored them, not wanting to get into the middle of a fruitless debate and cut my eyes to the bed where Lester and his wife were cuddled up together apparently sleeping. There was a comfortable looking chair sitting next to the bed so I lowered myself into it.

"Cougar is a kick-ass name," Lester said softly from the bed and I grinned at him as his eyes slowly opened.

"Congrats," I said and he smiled.

"Can you believe it? I'm a Dad."

"Not really. How's Melanie?"

"Melanie is tired," his wife said, blinking open her own bright green eyes. "But unbelievably happy."

"Congrats to you as well," I told her and she gave me a sleepy smile. "I hope you have a name picked out or your idiot husband and his cohorts are going to call him Cougar."

"No one is calling my son Cougar," she said. "His name is Alex."

"You hear that fucktards? His name is Alex," Tank said and Melanie, Steph and Beth all spoke at once.

"_Tank!"_

"What?" he asked generally perplexed.

"Mel doesn't want us cussing around the baby. She's afraid his first word will be the _'F'_ word," Lester supplied.

"Sorry," Tank muttered, properly censured.

"Mel, can we hold him?" Beth wanted to know and Melanie nodded her consent. Beth scooped him up into her arms and cradled him close to her chest.

"He's so little," Manny whispered as he peered down at the kid.

"Probably not for long," Hector added in nearly perfect English. I guess those lessons Steph has been giving him are paying off. "Cougars grow pretty fast." He flashed a grin at the new parents and all the women groaned in response.

"My turn," Steph said and Beth passed off the newest Santos into her waiting arms. She rocked him gently against her body like it was the most natural thing in the world and something fluttered inside my chest at the sight.

"Isn't he perfect?" She asked and then gently placed him in my arms as she crouched down in front of me.

"He's pretty cute," I allowed right before he started screaming. "And loud," I added and tried rocking him a little but that didn't help.

"Hand him over, he's probably hungry," Melanie said and Steph swiftly retrieved him and passed him off to his Mother.

Lester covered her with a blanket so the multiple pairs of eyes in the room wouldn't see her breasts and Alex was quiet as he suckled his nourishment.

"Can I get one of you to go get me some ice water?" Melanie asked.

"I'll do it," Lester said but Tank jumped in with a counter offer.

"Ranger and I will go," he said and I gave him a raised eyebrow. I was pretty sure it didn't take two people to procure ice water but I pushed out of the chair anyway and gave Steph a quick kiss before following him out of the room.

"How much water are we getting that it takes two of us?" I asked casually as we walked side by side towards the nurse's station.

Tank cut his eyes to me and then stopped right in the middle of the hallway. He shoved his hands in his pockets when I turned back to look at him and I took the two steps back to where he'd stopped. "What's wrong?"

He blew out a breath and started studying his feet. This was very unusual behavior for my second in command and I was starting to get a little concerned.

"Tank?"

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and thrust a small black box at me. I took it from him and lifted the lid. A giant diamond ring winked at me from the velvet cushion inside.

I looked up at the anxious expression on his face. "Well this is awkward. I'm sort of spoken for, Tank."

"You're an asshole," he said and I couldn't argue.

I closed the box and handed it back to him. "When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know. I've been carrying that around for two weeks. I'm nervous as hell."

I clapped him on the back and he slipped the box back into his pocket. "She's crazy about you, man. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"She is, isn't she?" He grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

"No doubt about that. You're sure she's the one?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "I don't know. What are _you_ waiting for?"

They were never going to stop trying to get Steph and I married. "This isn't about me," I dodged. "There is a new Mother waiting for some ice water." I tilted my head toward the nurse's station and thankfully he let it drop.

"You're still an asshole," he said as we made our way back to the room with a pitcher of water and a plastic cup filled with ice.

"Yep," I agreed. "But it's part of my charm."

He snorted his disbelief as we pushed open the door. We hung around for a while with the guys and the new parents before leaving them so they could get some sleep. I held Stephanie's hand on the drive home and she was unusually quiet. She still had not spoken when we pulled into the Rangeman garage and didn't say anything until we were in the elevator. She wrapped her arms around my waist as we rode to the seventh floor and said seriously, "The guys are going to call him Cougar, aren't they?"

"I'm afraid so. It's not horrible as far as nicknames go."

"That's true. I'm sure they could have come up with something worse. He's going to be running around here in his swat gear before we know it. Where on earth did they get infant sized black cargo pants?"

I laughed as the doors opened onto the lobby of our apartment. "Woody's mom made them."

"They were pretty cute, actually. I can already picture him in a Rangeman t-shirt and baby combat boots. He'll probably be a better shot than me by the time he's five." Stephanie shrugged out of her coat and I hung it in the entryway closet.

"He'll give you a run for your money if Lester has anything to say about it." I agreed. "Oh, before I forget…" I pulled my money clip out of my pocket and peeled off a twenty. I handed it to her and she gave me a questioning look.

"Tank showed me the engagement ring he bought for Beth tonight," I supplied.

"I knew it!" Steph exclaimed, stuffing the twenty into the pocket of her pants. "When is he going to ask?"

"I don't know. He's pretty nervous though."

"Tank? Nervous?" She was incredulous and I shrugged my shoulders. "What does that look like?" We made our way into the kitchen and Steph leaned up against the counter.

"I can't lie, it's a little disconcerting. But he'll work it out. There isn't any scenario where she'll say no so he really doesn't have anything to worry about."

"That's a fact," she said as she stifled a yawn. "Want to bet on when she'll get pregnant?"

I laughed and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. "I think you've taken enough money from me tonight."

"I told you it was a sucker bet," she reminded. "I'm sleepy. Want to come to bed with me?"

"I always want to go to bed with you, Babe. But don't you think we should talk first?" I leaned on the breakfast bar across from her and sipped some water.

"About what?"

I set down the bottle and pulled her into my arms. "I saw the look in your eyes when you held that baby, Steph."

She wrapped her arms around my middle and snuggled against my chest. "What look?"

I ran my hands through her hair and tilted her head back so I could look into her eyes. "Have you changed your mind about having kids?"

She lifted up on her toes and kissed me softly. "I don't think so…but the thought doesn't completely terrify me anymore. And when I held little Alex tonight I couldn't help thinking about what a mini Ranger would be like. But it doesn't matter, I know you don't want any more kids and as long as I get to have you for the rest of my life that's all I really need."

I kissed her temple and pulled her tighter to me. "It doesn't terrify me anymore either, Steph," I said softly.

She pushed out of my arms. "Nothing has ever terrified you. What are you saying, Ranger? Do you want to have a baby with me?"

"I'm saying that if you were to get pregnant, I don't think I'd mind."

Stephanie smiled that smile that makes my heart turn over beneath my ribs and then she kissed me until I wanted to take her into the bedroom and start practicing making babies.

"Let's go to bed," she whispered when she finally broke away and I scooped her into my arms and carried to our room.


End file.
